You have finally reached the ending point of your current education – the part where you need to write a dissertation. This is the final and obviously, the most important stage of this journey. The point of writing a dissertation is to show the capacity and skills in the form of research and writing, all in the discipline you chose to pursue. It is a step by step process that leads to original and highly valuable project for the scientific and academic community.
What Is a Dissertation?
Before we get into how to write a PhD or Master’s degree dissertation, let’s clarify the key idea behind this term. What is a dissertation, really?
The term dissertation research serves to present a finalized piece of content that results from independent research and work on behalf of a student. It doesn’t really matter if you are talking of a doctoral dissertation or undergraduate dissertation – the assignment’s structure and goals remain the same in all cases, as well as the high importance this paper carries in the academic world.
What is the Difference Between Dissertation vs. a Thesis?
A thesis differs from a dissertation based on not structure, but academic level of the student. A university dissertation is assigned as a final project for PhD candidates, while theses are written as a final paper for the completion of their Master’s degree.
Still, these two terms are not as different as one might think. The form and structure of both is very similar, with the difference that the PhD dissertation requires higher developed writing skills and more serious approach.
How to Structure a Dissertation
No matter what school you are studying in or what dissertation title and topic you have selected, there is a general structure that should be applied to writing a dissertation.
Step 1: Write the Dissertation Proposal
As this term suggests, you need to propose a dissertation project that will convince a committee that your research will be valuable and answer some field-related complex questions. This piece of paper will be much shorter than the dissertation itself, but it carries grand importance. It is the point where the committee decides whether your idea is worth researching at all, meaning that you must ace this part in order to get to the next stage of dissertation writing.
To write the proposal, you need to follow this structure:
- Title of the dissertation
- Objectives of the dissertation
- List of references you are planning to use
- Research questions and methodology
- Expected outcomes
- Schedule and timeframe for the stages of writing the dissertation
Step 2: Organize Your Research
The data and information you obtained during your research must be placed right in the dissertation structure. This stage should create an outline of the writing you will perform. Organize your research ahead and note down all sources. You wouldn’t want to end up having to look back every time you need to add acknowledgements in a dissertation.
Step 3: Write the Dissertation Introduction
The first chapter of your dissertation is the introduction. Naturally, there is an abstract before this chapter, but it is best to write an abstract for a dissertation once you have finalized the remaining parts, including the conclusion.
In the introduction, provide some background of the problem, add a thesis statement, clarify the goals of the study, and shortly introduce the research questions. Moreover, you need to define the project-related terms and expose your expectations for the research.
Step 4: Dissertation Literature Review Writing
This is the chapter of your dissertation where you review the research, as well as the acknowledgements you came down to.
Step 5: Write the Dissertation Methodology
The methodology is the part of the dissertation where you explain how you came to the results you will present in the dissertation. Here you need to explain the methods, setting, data collection, participants, as well as process of data analysis. If you are writing a quantitative research, this chapter should discuss the sample and population, instrumentation, analysis and collection of data.
Step 6: Write the Dissertation Discussion Chapter
Also called Findings, this chapter is probably the most important part of your dissertation. This is the part where you demonstrate the results of your research as well as your intellectual capacity. Basically, the Findings chapter should answer your research questions.
Step 7: Write the Dissertation Conclusion
The conclusion is the final chapter of your dissertation. Use this chapter to summarize your findings, explain how they make a difference for the academic community, as well as how these findings can be implied in practice. You can also add some recommendations for future research at the end of the conclusion.
How Long Does a Dissertation Need to Be?
This usually depends on the academic institution, your academic level, and the instructions from your professor. In average, dissertations are around 100-200 pages or more, making this the largest project you will have to work during your education.
The length of a dissertation is the most common reason why students give up on the writing part or struggle with keeping their motivation. Such a lengthy paper requires a great deal of research, great writing skills, and most importantly, a lot of organization. Without proper organization, you can easily get lost in the writing process.
How Long Does It Take to Write a Dissertation?
Dissertations are hard to write, meaning that it will take you a lot of time to write a great dissertation. Most students usually start their dissertation with enthusiasm, but start stressing over it when they realize how hard and lengthy this process is.
Basically, the dissertation writing process for you will depend on how motivated you are or how often you procrastinate, how developed are your research and writing skills, how well you did the outline before you started, if you have help or not, etc.
How to Write a Dissertation in 3 Days
Although this challenge is overwhelming and stressful, getting a dissertation within days is possible. With little help from dissertation writing service, you can get this lengthy paper within as little as three days, when your hopes have already vanished.
Even if you reached a part where your dissertation is done but you don’t feel confident enough that you can edit it in time, such services also offer dissertation editing. A first draft of a dissertation is far from a great version of the paper. Editing is truly essential.
When it comes to editing, your best shot at doing this part right is if you leave sometime between the writing and the editing process. This will let you look at the dissertation with a clear head and improve the first draft into an excellent third, fourth, or tenth draft.
And finally, before submitting the final draft to the dissertation committee, get some feedback on it. Share the dissertation with colleagues, friends, family or professionals and see what they think. Consider their suggestions and use them to improve the dissertation. After all, this is probably the most important paper you’ll have to write in your life.
